I was a kid in high school in the late 60's and plunked down the money for a
Gotham quad....rotated it with an Alliance TV rotor...worked a couple
hundred countries with it before I replaced it with a beam...even at 16, I
recognized that it wasn't the best built product on the market but, as
others have said, the price was right for the time.
I replaced the Gotham with a 3 el Swan Hornet Tri-bander...another old name.
Those were the days.
73's,
Bill, AA7X
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of jeremy-ca
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 12:41 PM
To: Pete Raymond; James C. Garland; towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Gotham antennas
Good stories from all.
Gotham started in Harlem, NY, moved when the area got unhealthy, to Queens
for a short time and then to Florida.
The average kid, and some older hams, that bought the verticals didnt
understand about radial systems. Attaching the coax shield to a ground rod
just didnt cut it. Same could be said about some modern newbies and
misleading info from some manufacturers.
My 15M 3el stayed up fine for about 4 years and then my folks asked me to
take it down since I was in the Navy and home as little as I could manage!
Two years later I was working for National Radio in Malden, MA
Carl
KM1H
KM1H
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pete Raymond" <n4kw@wildblue.net>
To: "James C. Garland" <4cx250b@muohio.edu>; <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 2:09 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>I sure do remember the Gotham antennas. My first antenna was a Gotham V80
> vertical which operated on 80 up through 10 meters for the cost of $16.00
> and some odd cents. The antenna consisted of two 12 foot length of
> aluminum
> tubing.
> Assembly was simply to slide one tube into the other until you had a total
> length of 23 feet. A large coil was provided for 80 meters. Radials,
> well
> mine was simply a wire to the vent pipe on the roof where my antenna was
> mounted. I was sixteen back then and on July 26 1958 I worked VK0TC on 20
> CW, now I want to tell you the electricity ran through my body for the
> next
> two days. When the qsl finally came it took a week before I came back to
> earth. Did the antenna work, I guess it did as I ran 75 watts back then
> and
> my walls were filling up with qsl cards. As I recall Gotham was out of
> Miami, FL. A qso and a time I will never forget.
> 73 Pete N4KW
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James C. Garland" <4cx250b@muohio.edu>
> To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 10:10 AM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>
>
>>I DO remember all those Gotham ads. But, curiously, I never actually
>>talked
>> to anybody who actually was using one. Even in the 1950s, Gotham prices
>> seemed impossibly low. I always wondered if they worked and how well they
>> were constructed? And if nobody bought them, how did the company pay for
>> all
>> those QST and CQ magazine ads?
>> Jim W8ZR
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
>> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Carl Smidt
>> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 7:34 AM
>> To: towertalk@contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>>
>> Nostalgia is getting to me.
>>
>> Remember all those good old Gotham adds in the magazines?
>>
>> 73, Carl VE9OV
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Tom Osborne" <w7why@verizon.net>
>> To: "Towertalk" <towertalk@contesting.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 9:52 PM
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> They ALL work.Some work better then others,some last longer then
>>>> >others
>>>> still others are cheaper then others.
>>>
>>> How true!!
>>> I had a Gotham 2 element quad up for about 5 years till the wind took
>>> the
>>> antenna and mast down. Paid $27.50 for it. Oh yeah, I know, aluminum
>>> spreaders, etc, won't work, but it did work. Better'n something else??
>>> Dunno, but I sure liked it. 73
>>> Tom W7WHY
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> TowerTalk@contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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